Kamal Haasan slams citizenship bill, says it amounts to 'discrimination'

Chennai, Dec 11: Makkal Needhi Maiam founder Kamal Haasan on Wednesday lashed out at the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, saying it amounted to the 'crime' of attempting surgery on a "disease-free" person.

The actor-politician's strong-worded response on the issue comes two days after the bill was passed in Lok Sabha and taken up for discussion in the upper house on Wednesday.

"Trying to make India a country where only one set of people live is discrimination," he said in a statement. "We certainly have a duty to rectify any error in the Constitution. But trying to correct a good, error-free system is a betrayal of the people and democracy," he said.

"The central government's legislation is equal to the crime of attempting surgery on the disease-free person," Haasan in a party statement. The Lok Sabha had earlier adopted the bill, which seeks to provide Indian citizenship to members of the Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities, who came to India from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan by December 31, 2014, and faced religious persecution in those countries. According to the proposed legislation, they will not be treated as illegal immigrants.

While political parties including Congress and Trinamool Congress have opposed the bill, protests have broken out in the northeastern parts of the country, especially in Assam, against it. Haasan further said the "young India will be quick to reject" such proposals and warned against any such attempts by the Centre.